One of Douglas La Bouff’s neighbors remembers him as a man who had the military in his blood at a young age.

“When he was around 8 years old, he would always be running around the street with military battle fatigues on,” said Louis Perez, mayor pro tem of La Puente.

On Saturday, La Bouff, 36, a major in the Army, was killed in a helicopter crash in northern Iraq, according to the Department of Defense.

Military officials said La Bouff, along with seven other troops and four American civilians, was aboard a Black Hawk helicopter as part of an air team providing support for the 101st Airborne Division.

They were flying between bases when communications were lost, officials said.

The cause of the crash remains under investigation; military officials said it was the deadliest crash in almost a year.

La Bouff was born in Baldwin Park and grew up in La Puente. He graduated from Bishop Amat High School in 1987, according to Dr. Merritt Hemenway, the school’s principal.

A biography prepared by family members said that in high school La Bouff played football and earned the Congressional Gold Medal for establishing an anti-drug program in his community.

He went on to receive a bachelor’s degree from Whittier College and a master’s degree from Cal State Fullerton, where he enrolled in the Army Reserve Officer Training Corps program.

La Bouff made a career out of the military and was assigned to the Army’s 3rd Armored Calvary Regiment in Fort Carson, Colo.

Army Capt. Robert Medina, a longtime friend of La Bouff’s, described him as a man who encompassed many commendable traits.

“He was intelligent, physically fit, a devoted Catholic, a loving father and a perfect husband,” Medina said.

Medina said La Bouff was in the military for 10 years and had almost completed his tour in Iraq.

“He was in Iraq for 10 months and he was scheduled to leave in late February. That’s what is so tragic,” he said.

David Lasher, assistant to the city manager, said flags at City Hall are being flown at half staff and will stay that way for a week as a sign of respect for La Bouff.

“The family had a strong tie to the community, and the children grew up a few doors down from Councilman Perez,” City Manager Hal Ledford said. “There is an obvious sadness that goes along with knowing a family that was so prominent in the community.”

La Bouff is survived by his wife, Karen, and two children.

“He was everything that people should strive to be,” Medina said. “I think if he had lived longer he would have achieved more achievements and higher ranks and that’s what he wanted,” Medina said.

“When you think of people dying in Iraq you (hear) of the young guys who are 21 and 22 who are out there on the front lines,” Perez said.

“La Bouff was a major, the one making decisions, but you never know what’s going to happen when you step on a ship, on a plane or on a helicopter. You just never know.”

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